New York, Oct 28 (EFE).- The United States Federal Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein, who was presiding over the case against ousted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro (2013-2026), died Wednesday at the age of 92, a judiciary spokesperson told local media.
Hellerstein was a veteran judge for the Southern District of New York, appointed to the bench by Democratic President Bill Clinton in 1998, and presided over high-profile cases, including litigation related to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
The US government’s narco-terrorism case against Maduro, as well as other proceedings handled by Hellerstein, “will be randomly assigned to another federal judge,” judicial spokesperson Ed Friedland told Politico.
The magistrate, who passed away this morning, was nearly 93 years old.
Born in New York on December 28, 1933, Hellerstein studied at Columbia University, served in the US Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps between 1957 and 1960, and worked for nearly four decades at the law firm Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP, specializing in commercial disputes.
Clinton appointed him as a district judge in 1998, and since 2011 he had assumed senior status, allowing him to remain active on select cases with a lighter workload.
Hellerstein handled massive litigation for damages following the 9/11 attacks, cases against top financial executives, and other proceedings involving former Venezuelan officials, including Hugo “El Pollo” Carvajal.
He had been leading the case against Maduro since March 2020, when the US filed the original indictment, allowing him to become familiar with the evidentiary framework and the prosecution’s arguments.
Following the Venezuelan leader’s capture and transfer to the United States in Jan. 2026, he presided over his initial court appearance alongside his wife, Cilia Flores, before a Manhattan federal court, where both pleaded not guilty.
Subsequently, a superseding indictment named Flores for the first time and maintained charges against Maduro for narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation, and weapons-related offenses.
Prior to his death, Hellerstein had several pending issues to resolve in the case, including the defense’s motion claiming head-of-state immunity for Maduro. The next hearing was scheduled for November 17. EFE
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